Monday, March 30, 2015

Normal by Graeme Cameron

Wow . . . just wow! I’m so glad that I stumbled across this book. From the very first page, it was dark and mesmerizing, with a touch of comedic genius.

The entire story is told from the serial killer's POV and it makes for a truly great story. The author never gives a description of what the killer looks like or even his name. It’s left entirely up to the reader to conjure up the identity of this guy. A guy that preys on unsuspecting women and could be out walking among us right now. In my head, he was cute, but not someone that would draw much attention to himself. A guy with kind eyes that might make me feel like he was someone I could trust.

He chose his victims based on his moods and often unforeseen circumstances, which was a little reckless. But things always seemed to work out in his favor. Even when the cops started nosing around. You couldn’t help but to laugh at his luck and the situations he found himself in.

"The truth is I hurt people. It’s what I do. It’s all I do. It’s all I’ve ever done. I’m not normal."

What made this story exceptional, was that the author was able to take a character that I should have loathed and despised, and turned him into someone that I had sympathy for. Someone that I almost liked. I wanted to believe so bad that the girl he couldn’t stop thinking about would change everything for him. That feeling love for the first time might actually wash away all the horrible things he had done. As if.

The ending was shocking and might have left a teeny, tiny bit to be desired, but I LOVED it. Every single word. One of the best books I’ve read so far this year.

5/5 Fangs

*Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*